Toyota Tundra Dually Returns To SEMA With Monster Diesel Mill

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Toyota Tundra Dually concept debuted at the 2007 SEMA show but returns for an encore with its 8.0 liter Hino heavy truck inline-six diesel engine normally used in a 35,000 lb beasts, an Eaton five-speed manual transmission and a matching Hino rear end, and you've got a truck beefy enough to drag the entire SEMA show around. We would have loved to know more about the specifics of that powertrain, but Toyota tooted its horn about the "opulent interior" and “Road Warrior exterior," 22.5 inch Alcoa wheels, blah, blah, blah. Tell us how many fully loaded train cars it can pull. Incomplete details below.

TOYOTA TUNDRA DIESEL DUALLY PROJECT TRUCK
“Road Warrior” exterior combined with luxury Interior

Making a bold and adventurous statement about the contrasts between rugged “Road Warrior” performance and opulent luxury, a Toyota Tundra CrewMax diesel dually project truck, which made its debut at the 2007 SEMA Show, is back again for SEMA 2008 in Toyota Vehicle Coral.

At its core, the Tundra light duty pickup’s stock engine was replaced with a medium duty diesel powerplant plucked from a 35,000-pound commercial truck. The 8.0-liter inline six-cylinder high-torque engine, made by Toyota affiliate Hino, is mated with an Eaton five-speed manual transmission and a Hino back end. Toyota Motorsports Technical Group heavily modified the Tundra to accommodate the beefed-up driveline.

A host of custom exterior treatments point to the off-the-charts muscle under the hood. Prominent examples include forged aluminum alloy 22.5-inch wheels custom made by Alcoa, a diamond plate-lined bed, a charcoal gray metallic flat paint finish and a fifth-wheel hitch rated at 24,000 pounds. The muscular theme on the outside shifts dramatically to that of luxury on the inside with hand-sewn ginger leather seats, suede pillars and headliner and dual rear captain’s chairs with individual DVD entertainment systems.

PARTNERS:
Engineering by Motorsports Technical Group
Interior by Fast Ed’s Interiors
Paint by Focus on Cars
Wheels by Alcoa
Power steps and fuel door by Amp Research
Sound system by Kenwood
Sound installation by Beach Auto Sound
Lighting by PIAA
Exhaust by Magnaflow
5th wheel hitch by Reese

[Source: Toyota]

Toyota A-BAT Gets Green Light, Tundra Diesel Gets Black Flag

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:20:00 EDT

According to Pickuptrucks.com, Toyota has given the go-ahead on a production version of the radical Toyota A-BAT concept first revealed at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. The compact, unibody pickup would be equipped with an expandable four foot cargo box and hybrid synergy drive while fitting into the footprint of the RAV4. The A-BAT would be one of only a few members of the compact segment (along with the Ford Ranger, which we still are told is on the outs, and the Pontiac G8 ST), as the rest of the competition has moved into the midsize range without saying so. Further making the point that the big truck market is on the skids, rumor has it the Toyota Tundra Diesel boss "Ken" Watenabe promised we'd eventually be seeing now has the status of indefinite delay.

But what should anyone expect? Tundra sales are in the doghouse and with diesel prices sky high, Toyota doesn't foresee a return on investment for an oil-burning engine.

Although we're told the A-BAT plans could get the axe if production prices come back too high, the idea along with the Tundra anti-plans come together to form a pretty clear picture: Trucks are going to shrink, at least from Toyota. No surprise to us as the current crop of pickups, while very capable, are also gigantic and thirsty. All we ask of Toyota in this new small truck is that they avoid building the beds from pre-rusted steel, as it would go a long way to keeping our highways cleaner in this second malaise era. [Pickuptrucks.com]

Jalopnik: toyota tundra diesel

Toyota Tundra Dually Returns To SEMA With Monster Diesel Mill

Toyota A-BAT Gets Green Light, Tundra Diesel Gets Black Flag